After all the buildup, the 2006 NFL Scouting Combine
is now in the books and as always there were successes, surprises,
disappointments and everything in between. The following is a quick
position-by-position look at some of the notable performances:

QuarterbacksVanderbilt's Jay Cutler continues his rise up draft boards and once
again took advantage of the opportunity to be the top quarterback
working out with Leinart and Young sitting the event out. In addition
to looking good in the throwing drills Cutler also ran a respectable
4.77 and put up an astounding 23 reps in the bench press. There is now
talk that he could go Top 5 overall and may have even passed up Vince
Young. Omar Jacobs of Bowling Green was also impressive and probably
helped himself while Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal blazed a 4.35 forty
and his momentum is still upwards. Keep an eye out for sleeper Ingle
Martin of Furman, who had the strongest arm of anyone in attendance and
looked good in drills. On the downside Vince Young of Texas did poorly
on the Wonderlic, scoring a 16, which further heightens doubts about
his ability to master a complex offensive scheme and to read pro
defenses. Marcus Vick of Virginia Tech also needed to come off great in
interviews but by all accounts failed to do so and looks like a late
round pick at best.

Running BacksThis could have been fun to watch if the top prospects had followed
the lead of Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams from a year ago and
worked out. Unfortunately that wasn't the case with Reggie Bush,
DeAngelo Williams, LenDale White and Laurence Maroney all opting to
wait for their Pro Day's, which left little to get excited about at the
position. The standouts were Joseph Addai of L.S.U. (4.40), Maurice
Drew of U.C.L.A. (4.39), Andre Hall of South Florida (4.42), Jerome
Harrison of Washington St. (4.47), Wali Lundy of Virginia (4.45),
Jerious Norwood of Mississippi St. (4.40), Leon Washington of Florida
St. (4.42) and Wendell Mathis of Fresno St. (4.51). These times have
led many to believe that this running back class may be a little deeper
than originally thought. The biggest loser might have been Brian
Calhoun of Wisconsin, who turned in a very disappointing 4.60 clocking
and may now drop a bit.

FullbacksObviously this isn't a glamour position and there really weren't any
standouts this year. However, Lawrence Vickers of Colorado probably
maintained his spot at the top fullback in the draft despite a less
than desirable forty time while Matt Bernstein of Wisconsin (4.90) and
Gilbert Harris of Arizona (4.85) were as slow as molasses.

Wide ReceiversWithout a doubt one of the stars of this year's Combine was
Florida's Chad Jackson, who ran a blistering 4.32 at 6-0 and 213lbs.
Last year Troy Williamson put up similar numbers and saw his stock
soar, which might be the case this year with Jackson. He is now
definitely a first rounder and could slide into the top half of round
one. In other words he made himself millions of dollars and after not
working out Santonio Holmes might need to start watching his back.
Sinorice Moss of Miami (FL) was impressive as expected and clocked in
the 4.3's while others who ran well include Devin Aromashodu and Ben
Obomanu of Auburn, Willie Reid of Florida St., Jonathan Orr of
Wisconsin, Adam Jennings of Fresno St. Meanwhile Derek Hagan of Arizona
St. also clocked an impressive 4.42 forty but continued to drop balls
while a couple of sleepers in Miles Austin of Monmouth and Marques
Colston of Hofstra more than held their own. Among the losers were Greg
Lee of Pittsburgh and Cory Rodgers of T.C.U., who both clocked poor
times and should have gone back to school for their senior seasons.

Tight EndsPerhaps no player in the history of the Combine has put on a show
like Maryland's Vernon Davis did, running a phenomenal 4.38 and just
looking brilliant in the drills. He was already a Top 15 pick but after
that performance people are now putting him in the elite category and
he has a shot at the Top 5-7 overall. Leonard Pope of Georgia also
looked very good while Tony Scheffler of Western Michigan has scouts
buzzing about his size, speed, and athleticism. As expected Marcedes
Lewis of U.C.L.A. ran a poor time (mid-4.8's) and could see his stock
slip a little.

Offensive TacklesEven though D'Brickashaw Ferguson opted not to work out he did make
some headlines by checking in at 312lbs., which is 15 more than he
weighed a month ago at the Senior Bowl. The standout among the tackles
was Eric Winston of Miami (FL) who ran an excellent 4.94 and was among
the top players in each positional drill. Guy Whimper of East Carolina
and Jeromey Clary of Kansas St. also clocked in at under 5.00 and put
their names on the map while Marcus McNeill ran a 5.07 which is simply
tremendous for a guy who is over 6-7 and 336lbs. Even though he didn't
run Winston Justice of Southern Cal looked very athletic in the drills
and his stock is also on the rise. Among those who disappointed was
Jonathan Scott of Texas, who didn't run quite as well as most thought
he would.

Offensive GuardsAs it was at the Senior Bowl the story at this position was once
again Charles Spencer of Pittsburgh, who looked very athletic despite
checking in at 352 pounds. Chris Kuper of North Dakota also stood out a
bit and might have helped himself while Max Jean-Gilles of Georgia ran
one of the worst times of anyone in attendance.

CentersNick Mangold of Ohio St. performed very well and solidified himself
as the top center in the draft and a possible first round pick. Also
keep an eye on Oklahoma's Chris Chester, who can play a number of
positions and really impressed with a 4.88 clocking.Defensive EndsAny conversation about the defensive ends has to start with Mario
Williams of North Carolina St., who checked in at 6-7 and 295 pounds
yet still managed to run an impressive 4.66 time in the forty. Let's
not leave out his teammate Manny Lawson though because he too helped
himself by running an amazing 4.43 time. Honestly there were so many
who impressed it would be tough to list them all but a few who deserve
mention were Kamerion Wimbley of Florida St., Stanley McClover of
Auburn and Mark Anderson of Alabama. As for those who did not do so
well Parys Haralson of Tennessee didn't show the speed needed to play
linebacker while Victor Adeyanju of Indiana did not run quite as well
as most expected him to. Of course you can't not mention Mike Kudla of
Ohio St., who tied the all-time Combine bench press record with 45 reps
of 225lbs.

Defensive TacklesOne of the most impressive players in Indy, regardless of position,
was Brodrick Bunkley of Florida St. The guy is simply a beast with a
cut frame and sub-5.00 speed which could help land him in the Top 20
overall. Two of the bigger names, Haloti Ngata of Oregon and Gabe
Watson of Michigan, did not run quite as well as most thought they
would but that won't be a big issue since they are nose tackles.
Perhaps the biggest disappointed here was Tommy Jackson of Auburn who
only ran in the high-5.2's which is not very good for a player his size.Outside LinebackersThis might have been one of the fastest groups of linebackers in
recent memory with Jon Alston of Stanford (4.40), Thomas Howard of
U.T.E.P. (4.42), Brandon Johnson of Louisville (4.44), and Ernie Sims
of Florida St. (4.50) leading the way. Terna Nande of Miami (OH) not
only ran well by clocking a 4.51 but also impressed in the weight room
by putting up 41 reps of 225lbs. Chad Greenway of Iowa did not run
nearly as well (4.7's) as many thought he would while A.J. Nicholson of
Florida St. and Stephen Tulloch of North Carolina St. both failed to
impress with their times in the high-4.8 to low-4.9 range.

Inside LinebackersThis position was highlighted not so much by guys who did well but
moreso by guys who did not do very good. Kai Parham of Virginia ran
over 5.0 in his forties and looked awkward in the drills while Kevin
Simon of Tennessee, whose game is supposed to be speed, only managed to
run in the 4.9's. If there was a bright spot it might have been Leon
Williams of Miami (FL) who looked athletic and ran a 4.54 time in the
forty. This was an under whelming group overall.

CornerbacksThere were some impressive times logged in the forty from this group
but to be honest most of them were expected. Tye Hill of Clemson
showcased his track speed and came through with the fastest time of any
player in attendance at 4.30 while Jonathan Joseph of South Carolina
was just behind him with a 4.31 time. Tim Jennings of Georgia, Kelly
Jennings of Miami (FL), Dee Webb of Florida and Richard Marshall of
Fresno St. also put on a show by clocking outstanding times. Among
those who disappointed was Charles Gordon of Kansas and while Miami's
Devin Hester ran a 4.45 it wasn't exactly the type of electrifying time
he needed for a guy with so many question marks. That just might not be
enough to entice a team to use a day one pick on him.SafetiesWhat a group this was and the speed some of these guys showed was
eye-opening. The performance of Texas' Michael Huff really stood out
and after running a 4.34 at 6-0 and 204lbs. he probably guaranteed
himself a spot in the Top 10 overall. Daniel Bullocks carried over the
momentum he started at the Senior Bowl and impressed with his 4.38
clocking, which leads some to believe he might be an even better
prospect than his brother Josh was a year ago. You also have to be
happy for Jason Allen of Tennessee, who is returning from a serious hip
injury yet still clocked a 4.39 which should send his stock upwards.
Donte Whitner of Ohio St. showed his strength (18 reps) and speed
(4.40) and looks like a first rounder while Ko Simpson of South
Carolina measured in at about what he was listed at in college and ran
a solid 4.45 time in the forty. There were also some so-so performances
but mentioning them would just take away from the outstanding effort
put in by the others. This could be one of the better safety classes to
come around in a very long time both in terms of quality at the top as
well as depth throughout.

Kickers / PuntersThere wasn't a whole lot happening here but Ryan Plackemeier of Wake
Forest stood out the most while John Torp of Colorado and Steve
Weatherford of Illinois struggled. Josh Huston of Ohio St. looked to be
the top kicker in attendance.

Information
reprinted with permission. For the best coverage of the NFL draft,
visit the most popular NFL draft site on the web at NFLDraftCountdown.com